


Apex: The Forge

by AlucardAbridged



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23978530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlucardAbridged/pseuds/AlucardAbridged
Summary: The Apex Games have always focused on the Legends, the big name fighters that make the Syndicate the most money. But there is a second Apex Games they run. The Forge, where Legend wannabes fight for the chance to join the Legends. Y/N has been stuck in these games for over a year, never really improving, never setting themself apart from the competition to earn a place in the competition. Until Loba. A fateful meeting with the thief brings Y/N out of the lowest tiers of the Forge, and brings them up to the Legends.
Relationships: Loba/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. Loba

Squad Eliminated. Those damned words flashed in front of your eyes as you landed back in your room. Sitting up you pulled off your helmet, throwing it on your bed. Without a word you got up, walking over to your monitor to see your stats for that game.  
0 Kills. 10 Damage. 1 Revive. 0 Respawns.  
That was how it always turned out. You'd do your damnedest every match, and yet it wouldn't work. You might get lucky and actually shoot the enemy a few times, but you never downed them. They always had better aim, better skill, better everything. Swiping away the humiliating numbers you walked back to your bed, picking up your helmet and setting it on your nightstand.  
It was a small reprieve, always having these apartments to return to. They were comfortable, at least to you. A connected bathroom, a built in kitchen, and a large flatscreen set against the wall to help distract yourself from your latest lost. Not that it ever worked. No point in just sitting here focusing on it  
Getting up you started to pull off the combat uniform they gave Forge participants. It was a jet black suit, modelled after the standard IMC Marine rifleman uniforms, complete with an enclosed helmet that gave you your HUD. Soon you'd tossed the suit on your bed, grabbing some clothes from your closet and headed to your bathroom for a shower. King's Canyon sand was some of the worst to clean off.

You finally stepped out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed physically, not too much mentally. Walking to your monitor again you grabbed your phone from beside it, and started to type in the address for the Paradise Lounge. If you couldn't hope to join the Legends, at least you could hope to see one there.

You sat yourself down as far from the door to the bar as you could, looking at the photo of the new Legend on the wall. It was from the helmet camera of one of the Forge participants, and showed the robot standing over them, making a shushing gesture.  
You weren't surprised you didn't recognize the robot. You were probably already eliminated from the game by the time that photo happened. You did recognize it as the same one from the botched interview with the Hammon Industries sponsored "Forge". No doubt the robot got in the games because of that one.  
"Yeah that's that new guy. Pretty creepy if you ask me." You jumped, not realizing someone had walked up to you, since you'd been distracted by the photo. Looking to where the voice came from you froze. There was Mirage, an actual Legend, actually in front of you.  
"Woah. Sorry, didn't mean to freak you out there." He told you rapidly, moving to sit by you.  
"Uh. It's fine. What are you doing sitting next to me?" You asked, shocked he even bothered to speak to you, let alone sit next to you.  
"I'm on break, figured I'd sit with someone whose interested in the Games." He said, pointing to the Apex logo on your jacket.  
"That makes sense I guess." You glanced to the logo, always forgetting it was there.  
"Go ahead, ask anything. Always happy to talk with a fan." He said casually.  
"How'd you get in the Games?" You asked without hesitation.  
"Same way everyone else did. Charm, luck, skill, and decoys." You frowned, that didn't exactly help in your case.   
"Any tips for me? I'm in the Forge, trying to get out." Mirage seemed surprised when you said that.  
"You're in the Forge? Good to see your following the dream kid." Mirage told you encouragingly, patting your shoulder. "I don't really know what to tell you, just keep trying, you'll get it." You sank into your chair.  
"I've been trying for over a year now. Doesn't work." You deadpanned, Mirage freezing as you said that.  
"Oh…" As he tried to find a way out of the hole he'd just jumped in you saw a woman walk up behind him.  
"I think your breaks over." She said, a sultry tone in her voice.  
"Huh? Oh yeah it is." He got up. "What can I get either of you?" He asked, looking between you and the newcomer.  
"Water's fine. I still have to get back to my apartment anyways." You looked to your phone, wanting an out from the conversation.  
"Whatever you have that's nice around here hotshot." The woman told Mirage, sitting across from you as she did.  
"Got it." He rushed off, leaving you two alone.  
"It's rude not to have a conversation with a lady." The woman said, her sultry tone replaced with a teasing one.  
"Conversation isn't my thing. Especially with strangers." You deadpanned again, just wanting to be left alone.  
"Alright. I'm Loba. You are?"  
"What's it matter? I don't have anything you'd want, so why bother talking to me?" You told her, still watching your phone.  
"You do have something. You're in the Forge." You glanced up.  
"Yeah...and?" You watched as this Loba woman smiled at you.  
"I'm going to be joining in a day or two. Figured I could use someone already there to work with." You sighed softly at that.  
"Then find someone else. I'm the last person you should be asking." You told her, going back to your phone now.  
"Whether you're terrible or not, you're at least someone who can show me around the maps. Besides. Help me and I'll help you." You glanced up.  
"How are you going to help me then, Loba?" She smiled as you used her name.  
"I'll help you get to the top. And when I make it as one of the Legends, I'll take you with me." You looked at her, surprised. Though you weren't doubting her, if she was that confident she'd get in.  
"Why do you want to help me?" You asked cautiously.  
"You have a nice face. I think it could use a smile though." Loba told you with that same teasing tone again.  
"Alright. Deal." Loba stuck her hand across the table, and you took it, shaking it.  
"Good. See you in the next few days, partner."


	2. Hope

Squad Eliminated. You sighed as you fell on to the floor of your room. "At least you lasted halfway." You jumped at the voice, turning your head to see Loba standing in front of your monitor, swiping to your match stats. "Want to check how you did?" She asked, turning to you with another of her smirks.  
"I'd rather know how, why, and what you're doing in my room." You demanded, getting to your feet.  
"I finished signing up for the Forge today. Found your name in the meantime. So I figured, if we're going to work together, we might as well share an apartment too." She told you, walking by you to sit on your bed.  
"They actually allowed you to do that?" You asked skeptically, pulling off your helmet now.  
"Obviously. They just asked for a higher entry fee for the liability." She told you, still holding that same smile on her face.  
"Why agree to that? Why not just get your own?" You asked, walking to your monitor to swipe away your stats from the match.  
"I told you, I'm going to be bringing you with me when I get through the Forge. But I need to trust your worth it. So staying with you will help me figure out if your worth it, or if I should just leave you behind." Loba explained, flipping one of her ponytails.  
You went to say something but stopped. You'd already agree to it. You couldn't exactly lose anything doing this. You were already near the bottom of the charts as it was.  
"Fine. Anything I can do for you now?" You asked, grabbing your clothes from your closet again.  
"Shower. I figure a night on the town might get us started on the right foot." You looked to the clock on your wall.  
"It's barely past two though." You told her, pointing to the clock.  
"Humor me will you." You sighed at that. Again, what did you have to lose?  
"Fine."

"So where are we going?" You asked Loba, walking along with her.  
"I haven't decided yet." She told you cryptically, twirling her cane.  
"Judging by your looks you didn't join the Forge because your strapped for cash. Why would you want to join a blood game?" You asked her, curious why someone who looked so rich would want to join the Apex Games.  
"Personal reasons. Maybe I'll tell you some day. Maybe." She told you, frowning as she said this, though her face gained another smirk before long. "How about Paradise Lounge again? See if that bartender can actually give you some good advice this time."  
"Maybe. I don't think he actually could after how he reacted when I told him how long I've been in the Forge." You told her, looking at the ground as you walked.  
"I'm sure I can find a way to make him help." She said, nudging you with her cane to make you look at her. "Besides. There's other ways to learn."

"Oh hey. You two again, anything I can get you this time?" Mirage asked as you both walked up to the bar.  
"Something nice again for me." Loba told him, then glanced to you.  
"Water for me." You told the Legend. As he walked off you noticed Loba look at you curiously. "What?" You asked.  
"For someone that seems so depressed all the time you sure do avoid alcohol a lot." You shrugged as she said that.  
"Never been one for drinking. Just doesn't taste good to me." You told her, shrugging again as you did.  
"Fair enough." Mirage set down a glass of water in front of you, and presumably vodka for Loba, judging by the fact it was clear too.  
"Oh yeah before I go, here." Mirage handed you a memory drive.  
"What's this?" You asked, looking it over.  
"I talked to some of the others earlier today, mentioned you. Put that in your monitor and the nicer ones will chat with you when they get the chance, try to help you get better." You felt the color drained from your face. You had Legends attention. A worthless nobody in the Forge had the attention of Legends.  
Loba hit you with her cane. "Don't clam up now, thank him at least." She chuckled.  
"Uh yeah, thanks so much Mirage." You said, never looking away from the memory stick. As the Legend walked off Loba sipped her drink.  
"That's better than I expected." She confessed, chuckling again as she nudged you. "You look starstruck."  
"Obviously. I'm a nobody at the bottom of the Forge that just got handed a way to talk to the Legends themselves. Of course I'm starstruck." You laughed, pocketing the stick.  
"Can't wait to get back and use it I'm guessing?" Loba asked, noticing the slight smile you had. It was definitely an improvement over the constant frown you always had on.  
"Yeah. I wonder which one will talk to me first." You told her, finally feeling a spark of hope after all this time.  
"Whoever it is I'm sure you'll get better with their help." Loba told you, patting your shoulder. "Let me finish my drink at least."

You walked over to your monitor, pulling out the memory stick. You quickly found the right port and plugged it in.  
"Don't be surprised if nothing happens right away. He said they'd chat with you when they got the chance." Loba told you, noticing how your hand seemed to be twitching with excitement.  
"I know that. I don't mind waiting a bit." You told her, never looking away from your monitor.  
"Since your eyes are glued to that monitor now, I think you should know they gave us bunkbeds now." Loba told you, walking over to them.  
"I call top bunk." You told her, still staring at the monitor.  
"You are not a top. I get top bunk." You blinked twice before realizing what she had just implied.  
"The hell are you saying about me Loba?"


	3. Motif

Squad Eliminated. You sighed as you rested on to the floor of your room for a moment, coming down from your adrenaline.  
"Great job partner. You managed to actually down most of a squad." Loba told you, sitting in front of your monitor. "If that other squad hadn't shown up when they did I think you would have wiped the whole squad." You sat up now, pulling off your helmet.  
"Yeah. I'm surprised I did that well honestly." You replied in an off handed manner, tossing your helmet over to your bed.  
"Looks like the doctor had good advice didn't she?" Loba was referring to Lifeline, who gave you a few pointers on the kinds of guns you should go for. Instead of the lmg's you tried to get, she suggested smg's, and possibly the Hemlok since it was a burst fire. That way your aim would be far more accurate without heavy recoil like the bigger guns.  
It had worked, you had found an r99 and shredded two opponents, and were pressuring the third when another squad had showed up, getting your squad eliminated along with the other squad.  
"She sure did. Can't wait to hear what the other's have to tell me." You admitted, walking to your closet to grab your clothes.  
"Why do you always go to shower after a match?" Loba asked, having noticed your habit.  
"No matter what you do, landing in King's Canyon gets sand all over you. and since Forge participants only fight in King's Canyon, you get sand on you every game." You explained before heading to your bathroom to shower.  
Loba shrugged at that knowledge. "A little friction never hurt anybody." She stated jokingly.  
"Tell that to some of these people, I swear I'm the only one that doesn't get chafed after a match." You stated before shutting the door behind you.

"So what are you going to do the rest of the day? They don't run two games a day like they do with the Legends." Loba asked you, lounging on the top bunk as you walked to your monitor.  
"Something will come to me eventually." You shrugged, grabbing your headphones off the dresser and putting them in.  
"You mind letting me know if a Legend happens to wanna talk?" You asked Loba, looking to her.  
"Not at all partner." She told you with a smile, waving you off as she walked over to the monitor.

Your helmet being thrown at you was the only indication Loba gave you that she was trying to get your attention. You quickly threw up your arm so it hit that instead of your head like she had intended.   
Looking to her with a look of confusion she simply pointed to your monitor, Bloodhound lightly waving as you saw them on it. You were quick to pull out your headphones, leaving them on your bed as you walked over.  
"Mirage said you were looking for advice Félagi Fighter. I would like to offer some." You nodded as Bloodhound said that.  
"Yes I am actually. Lifeline gave me pointers on what sort of guns I should have been using, and I already went from dragging behind to almost wiping a squad on my own." You said proudly, like a child telling their parent their newest achievement.  
"That is good news. I took the liberty to look at some of your Forge footage actually." Bloodhound told you. "I believe my advice for today will be how to better anticipate the actions of enemy andskoti." You nodded, opening a note page next to the feed of Bloodhound.  
"Ready to hear it." You said, smiling at the Legend.  
"You're previous footage shows you are too fearful of the enemy, and avoid them to survive. However your footage from today shows the opposite. You were over eager, pushing your enemy into an area where a third squad's arrival was likely." You nodded, listening intently as you noted the issues.  
"You need to find balance between these extremes in behavior. Do not avoid enemies at all costs if you have a chance at victory. But with that same idea, do not pursue them because you have them on the run unless you can slátra them without a dount. Learn to hold back if you hear a fight already underway, and you may become the third squad that claims victory and the spoils of it." You nodded, typing notes better and faster than you had ever in school.  
"Learn to trust your senses, if you think you hear something out of place, alert your Félagi to it so that they may help you if you are close to an enemy." You nodded, typing again.  
"Beyond these I cannot offer large wells of knowledge for the moment. As I see your potential I will try to speak with you again." Bloodhound told you.  
"Thank you Bloodhound, I'll make sure to do that tomorrow in the ring." You told the hunter, who nodded before shutting off their camera.

"So what do you intend to do tomorrow to try what they said?" Loba asked, sitting on the top bunk.  
"What else can I do? Listen and be careful, but not be a coward." You said with a shrug, not knowing how to put into words what you had to do. At that moment your monitor chimed, another Legend apparently wanted to talk. Turning to it you opened the video to see Mirage.  
"Hey kid, nice to see you again." Mirage said, waving and flashing his usual smile as he said that.  
"Hey Mirage. What advice do you have for me?" You asked with a smile, opening the notes you had again.  
"Ah not as much as the others really. Just something that might get you noticed while your still getting the hang of things." Mirage said, shrugging.  
"Everyone has a sort of image, a m-m-mo...thing that fits their style." He said, frowning as he tripped up on his words again, though you didn't notice as you nodded along.  
"Yeah. I know that. What about it?" You asked curiously.  
"You should try and get one. Might make you a fan favorite if you look different from the rest of the Forge, and even if you don't ace it in the skill department, that sort of fame can get you in anyways." He offered up, seeming pleased as you nodded and noted it down.  
"Thanks Mirage. Anything else?"  
"Nah, that's it. I gotta go, bunch of new customers just came in. Later kid." With that he was gone.


	4. Fenrir

The sound of your door opening was the first thing you heard, turning at the sound of Loba, her heels clicking against the floor. "What are you reading up on over there?" She asked, using her staff to jump up into the top bunk like an acrobat.  
"Old mythologies. Trying to think of something I could do for an image." You told her, turning back to the monitor and reading.  
"Why not make your own image?" Loba asked, watching you.  
"I have little idea how to do that. Honestly might be better off basing my image off something from The Old Ways like Bloodhound follows." Loba silently rolled her eyes behind your back.  
"Why follow The Old Ways in the first place? It's not like you have to." She pointed out, her clicking heels telling you she was approaching you.  
"I respect Bloodhound's dedication to The Old Ways, and always liked reading about the religions and beliefs of old Earth civilizations." You responded simply.  
"Alright. How about something that would match me at least?" She said, the wolfhead on her staff entering your vision. "Anything in the Old Ways that's got to do with wolves?" She asked.  
You looked at the ornament silently for a few moments before pulling up a picture of the first wolf that came to mind. Fenrir.  
"This one. Fenrir is the father of Sköll and Hati, the wolves that chase the Sun and Moon so they keep moving. He's also the one who will kill Odin at Ragnarok. Sound intense enough for you?" You asked, looking back to Loba over your shoulder, only to see a smirk on her face.  
"Sounds absolutely perfect. After all, what's better for an underdog than to become the biggest wolf out there?" She asked, smiling at you. "Though you'll need an outfit for it." She said cryptically.  
"Why do I feel worried when you say that?"

You had been right to worry, Loba had grabbed you and was now dragging you along to her ship. She was going to haul you with her to Olympus on some high dollar shopping spree over your break.  
"I still don't see why we can't just get whatever is going into my outfit here." You stated as you let the woman drag you along, having learned by now to just go with it since you'd be roped in one way or another.  
"You can't get custom clothes anywhere here in Solis, but you can get anything in Olympus." She told you, giving you that same smile she always did when she was trying to be charming.  
"And since I'm still in the bottom half of the Forge I can't afford a thing there." You pointed out, only to be met by an eye roll.  
"Oh come on, I'm fine buying what's going into my partners image. After all, we should at least match a little." Loba told you.  
"I refuse to wear white." You responded flatly, being met with another giggle for it.

You looked at the front of the shop Loba had lead you to, then to Loba.  
"For high fashion this place isn't anything special." You deadpanned, pointing to the hoodies that were on display in the window.  
"I never said a thing about high fashion partner. Just that you can get custom things here." With that she walked into the store, leaving you staring at her in confusion and mild annoyance. Why was she like this?  
As you walked in you saw Loba talking to the cashier.  
"Shopping for my friend here actually, figured we should get him into a bit better fitting outfit than that." She said, giving a dismissive gesture to your clothes as she spoke.  
You looked at your outfit, then to Loba with a frown. "Your the one that said I should dress comfortably." You protested, only for Loba to wave off your words as the cashier went to get someone to work with you and Loba.  
"Yes I did. But those clothes are too loose for the arena. So we're getting you custom fit." She told you, smirking again as she giggled.  
"Oh don't pout." She said, seeing you were still frowning.  
"I'm not pouting. I'm trying to figure you out." You said, crossing your arms.  
"You'll be here all day if you try to do that dear, just worry about getting fitted first." She told you, nodding to the approaching salesmen so you knew that the conversation was over.

"That looks much better." Loba said, looking over the digital projection of what your new outfit would look like when it was finished.  
"Comfortable clothes your use to that won't get in your way in the ring." Loba then turned to you. "And none of it in white, just like you asked." She added, smirking as she tapped the end of her staff against your shoulder.  
"Thanks." You said, looking the outfit over.  
"Though I don't think that this is gonna be iconic enough." You pointed out, since the outfit was just all black, common clothes that were just fitted better for the arena.  
"Oh I figured it wouldn't be. Now we're going to visit a place where I get things." She teased, grabbing your arm and leading you out.

"A masquerade store? What? Are we going to the ball after this Cinderella?" You asked with more sarcasm than you thought you had.  
"No. But I figured they'd be the best place to pick up a design you could tinker with. Since I know you have an eye for details." Loba told you, leading you in.  
"What makes you say that?" You asked, following the well dressed Andrade.  
"Even if you can't shoot them half of the time, you can certainly pick someone out from a distance better than anyone I've seen you on a team with so far." Loba told you, walking over to the well dressed saleswoman.  
"My aim is better than half the time at least." You protested simply as you joined Loba.


End file.
